Group pushes for reopening of Youghal rail line to help ease 'phenomenal' gridlock

A Cork schoolchildren's summer excursion to Youghal leaves Lower Glanmire Road station on July 7, 1931 Picture: Irish Examiner Archive

A group pushing for the reopening of a railway line to Youghal in East Cork will meet with Irish Rail officials later month given the "phenomenal" gridlock on roads into the town.

The East Cork Rail Alliance met with TDs and senators in Leinster House in September to lobby for the reopening of the line.

Passenger trains from Midleton to Youghal were discontinued in 1963, while freight trains continued to use the line until 1982.

Alliance chairman Michael Beecher says it makes sense to restart a passenger service which would link Cork City to Youghal, given the heavy volumes of traffic feeding to and from Cork City daily.

Mr Beecher said reopening the line for passenger travel would benefit not just Youghal, but also other areas of East Cork and west Waterford. 

He said: “It would be passing through Mogeely and Killeagh as well and it certainly would benefit the town of Youghal.” 

He described the gridlock on the N25 as "phenomenal" with people commuting from Dungarvan right up to Cork to go to Little Island, Ringaskiddy, and into Cork City, and said a lot of commuters are are driving to Midleton to get the train.

“Youghal needs a boost. We have a bus service that is on the hour every hour but it gets caught up in the traffic.” 

A railway service would also benefit in attracting businesses to open in the town, according to Mr Beecher.

The group will meet with Irish Rail representatives at Kent Station on November 17 and will also meet with other local representatives from East Cork and Waterford over the next few weeks in a bid to progress their bid.

In February 2024, Irish Rail project manager AJ Cronin told the East Cork Municipal District Council that the reopening of the Midleton-Youghal railway line, or its use as a future rapid bus corridor, has not been ruled out.

He said that the width of the original land which was set aside when the railway was constructed is sufficient to build a twin track alongside the greenway.

He said that Irish Rail had inserted a clause in an agreement with the council on the construction of the greenway that it could use the route at any time if it wanted to reopen the railway line.